Who has the most cash already to run for public advocate?

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A number of contenders have launched campaigns to become New York City’s next public advocate, but most don’t yet have the funds to match their ambition. But some candidates have money from previous city campaigns, which the New York City Campaign Finance Board allows them to fully utilize in the special election to replace Letitia James.

The state allows larger individual donations than the city, so state legislators and past candidates for state legislative seats can only transfer funds within the city’s special election campaign contribution limit of $2,550 per donor – and not from a corporation or a limited liability corporation. Funds that qualify can be transferred on a “last into the state BOE, first into the CFB” basis – meaning the most recent donations under the $2,550 threshold are eligible.

Assemblywoman Latrice Walker

Walker hasn’t kept up to date with her state filings, but according to her most recent report, the Brooklyn assemblywoman has $30,139, some portion of which she can transfer.

The remaining candidates – attorneys Dawn Smalls and Ifeoma Ike, progressive activist Nomiki Konst, entrepreneur Theo Chino, Manhattan Democratic Party Secretary Benjamin Yee and New York City Department of Transportation Analyst Michael Zumbluskas – do not have any campaign cash, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s most recent summary.

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As founder and research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, E.J. McMahon is a go-to expert on budget plans and policy proposals. His organization promotes greater transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility in state government, which often puts him at odds with lawmakers and the governor. McMahon previously worked as a journalist in Albany, as an Assembly Republican staffer and a budget adviser for almost 30 years, giving him great insight into the goings-on in the Capitol.